GTA Auto 4 maker Take-Two has sued the Chicago Transit Authority for pulling ads promoting the game.

Take-Two claims that the transit authority has violated its free speech and contractual rights, saying it pulled its posters within days of the ads first appearing on April 22. The company said that the Transit Authority and its sales agent, Titan Outdoor, have violated a US$300,000 ad campaign agreement.

It was supposed to put "Grand Theft Auto 4" poster ads on the sides of buses and transit display spaces throughout the Chicago Transit System for six weeks between April and June. The CTA pulled the adverts after a Fox television news story about the game pondered why the ad was allowed to run after a wave of violent crimes occurred in Chicago.